A Quilting Journey

Archive for the tag “maple leaf quilt”

Fall has finally arrived in our area of Florida. It was wonderful to wake up and feel chill in the air. I do miss having the piles of leaves we had in our yard in Maryland, but I don’t miss raking them!

Hubby had to have minor surgery on Friday so I got to spend the entire weekend sewing 🙂 while he slept.

My family are big football fans especially Big Ten College Football. I finished a baby quilt for friends that are both Purdue graduates.

Quilt Measures 38 x 38. I used 10 inch squares from my Simply Colorful – Yellow layer cake by V&Co for Moda. Some of the blocks are rectangles some squares to match the wonky star in the center. I used one of the prints from the Modern Background – Ink line by Zen Chic for the star and binding. The print of the black fabric has math calculations all over which I thought was perfect since the dad is an engineer. I added a little embroidery “You Are My Sunshine” to one of the blocks. I’m happy with the results.

2017 Wonky Star Finished

2017 Wonky Star Embroidery

My youngest son graduated from University of Michigan and also played football for them- so I am a BIG BIG fan. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I love the maple leaf quilt block, I made a table runner in Blue and Maize — I hope my son likes it.

I used the QAYG technique where you create the block traditionally and quilt each block individually before joining. Below are the individual blocks.

The finished table runner measures 14 x 68.

Batik Maple Leaf Table Runner

I quilted with straight lines alternating the direction on each block.

Batik Table Runner block 3

I stitched in the ditch with mono-filament thread on top and matching navy thread in the bobbin to attach the backing.

There are several versions of the maple leaf block. I like this one because it’s quick and easy!

maple leaf batik pillow

This maple leaf quilt block can be made with any color; it can be the actual color of leaves- green for spring and summer or golden brown for fall. You could also make it scrappy with all the leaf pieces being a different color.

maple leaf mini quilt

maple leaf scrappy

My latest maple goodies are:

Hello Fall maple leaf table topper

Hello Fall Table topper

Hello Fall Taple Topper

Maple Leaf Table Topper Stats:

Quilt Block – Maple Leaf

Size – 24 x 24 inches

Fabric – Hello Fall charm pack; Sandy Gervais for Moda

Quilting – Machine Straight Line using my Babylock Ellisimo

Thread – Superior #906 – Autumn Days – a variegated thread

Binding – machine stitched front and back

I love the rich fall colors and whimsical prints in this fabric line. I used a cream fabric for the body of the leaf. The print charm squares were used as the background fabric in the maple leaf quilt block, as well as the border; giving the illusion of a single in leaf in a bed of color.

I’m a precut junkie – especially charm packs. They’re cute and cheap. I’m always thinking of ways to use them in projects and teaching myself new techniques. In this wall hanging I used the prints with fall colors from the two Patrick Lose charm packs and the background pieces from the Ivory Basic charm pack.

I created 4 scrappy maple leaf quilt blocks omitting the stem, rotating each block so that the empty “stem” block went to the center. This created the area for the embroidery. With the remaining charms I created the border.

Maple Leaf Nine Patch Wall Hanging

Maple Fall Nine Patch

Maple Leaf Nine Patch Wall Hanging Stats:

Quilt Block – Maple Leaf and Nine Patch

Size – 42 x 42 square

Fabric – Kona Solids, Keepsake Calicos and V&Co Simply Colorful

Quilting – Machine Straight Line using my Babylock ellisimo

Thread – Superior #906 Autumn Days

Binding – machine stitched to front hand stitched to back

In our foyer I have a great spot to showcase many of wallhangings. I’m using this wall hanging for this month November.

I practiced more walking foot quilting with pillows to match the quilt. The yellow/gold pillow I used a decorative stitch from my machine, the burgundy pillow, I marked a large X and echoed each quadrant. It was my first time using a chalk pencil — I didn’t test it — and it didn’t come out until several washes later.

2015 maple pillows

I love the maple leaf quilt block. It is a very beginner friendly block — you learn how to make half square triangles (HST), trimming to size and stitching them together so that you don’t lose the points. The floor rug below was my first attempt — lots, lots of mistakes. Finished is better than perfect right? 🙂

If you are interested in seeing a great video tutorial for creating the maple leaf quilt block, check out Amanda from 3and3Quarters.